Analysis of the Fashion Industry free essay sample

Fashion is one of the world’s most important creative industries. It has provided economic thought with a canonical example in theorizing about consumption and conformity. Social thinkers have long treated fashion as a window upon social class and social change. Cultural theorists have focused on fashion to reflect on symbolic meaning and social ideals. Fashion has also been seen to embody representative characteristics of modernity, and even of culture itself. Everyone wears clothing and inevitably participates in fashion to some degree. However, it would be an understatement to say that fashion influences just clothing; in fact, to be very precise fashion influences almost every aspect of our daily life. More often than not, Fashion trends are a reflection of the political, social and economic changes and developments around us. Fashion is an important part of not only arts but maybe even more of economy. At first glance only the aesthetic aspect of it is visible with the beauty, amazing creations and materials. But if one looks more carefully, the whole highly developed and profit producing industry lies behind this glitter. The fashion industry consists of four levels: the production of raw materials, principally textiles, leather and fur; the production of fashion goods by designers, manufacturers, contractors, and others; retail sales; and various forms of advertising and promotion. These levels consist of many separate but interdependent sectors, all of which are devoted to the goal of satisfying consumer demand for apparel under conditions that enable participants in the industry to operate at a profit. Not only The global fashion apparel industry is one of the most important sectors of the economy in terms of investment, revenue, trade and employment generation all over the world, but also The Business of Fashion is an essential daily resource for fashion creatives, executives and entrepreneurs. Selling is the final activity of business .In order to survive , the ability to sell has a great portion of importance among other business abilities. The fashion industry is rather a very sensitive industry toward changes in the cultural , social and economic factors . It is relatively harder or more complicated to understand why a product of a fashion industry sells while others are not. Companies perform various efforts to enhance their selling capabilities. Conducting a marketing analysis, that is, reviewing the strengths of an organization, its weaknesses, opportunities it can capitalize on for maximum profits, and the threats to achieving its full potential provides very invaluable information to the organization about the market and understanding the industry, as well. The analysis is used to define both the unfavorable and favorable factors and their impacts on goals of the business. The fashion industry, which is very volatile, is not an exception, it too has its own share of strengths and opportunities which once utilized by an organization can help it grow substantially and weaknesses and threats which the organization must strive to minimize to the lowest possible levels. Fashion marketing is based on the identification of market trends which are used to analyze, develop and configure related marketing strategies and promotional activities for fashion products. Fashion marketing is the application of a range of techniques and a business philosophy that centers upon the customer and potential customer of clothing and related products and services in order to meet the long term goals of the organization.The very nature of fashion, where change is intrinsic, gives emphasis to marketing activities . Essentially fashion marketing is composed of elements of fashion designing and marketing management which are combined together to develop a comprehensive marketing plan for fashion products. This marketing strategy and the related plan is composed of different tasks relative to the elements of promotions, advertising, retailing, branding, affiliate marketing, and distribution. In order to be successful fashion marketers have to be future oriented with forecast information about the market. The fashion industry demands that in order to have an effective fashion marketing strategy, companies need to understand and identify their customers, the trends in the fashion industry as well as how the branding and the marketing of their products effects the purchase behavior of the consumers. This knowledge is the main resource available to fashion marketers to develop a marketing strategy for their fashion based products . Marketing in the fashion industry is often difficult as the industry is very volatile with constant changes taking place in its external as well as internal environments. As a result the approaches taken towards fashion marketing have to be adjusted and revamped in order to effectively target the latest and future trends. A myriad of factors define the fashion retail market, namely the interactions among fashion companies and the interaction between fashion companies and the consumer. The retailers seem to have the most power in defining the market as they possess the power to market goods at prices desirable to them. However, the market price is in fact also determined by consumers. According to basic economic theory, the price of a good is determined by the demand by consumers and supply of the good by the producers in the economy. Especially for the fashion retail market, fashion trends are forecasted by analysing results of consumers emotions towards the previous trend. Hence, consumers do play a vital role in forming the fashion retail market as well. Consumer culture or consumerism, is â€Å"the theory that a progressively greater consumption of goods is economically beneficial†. Fashion creates a desire for ownership. Coupled with mass media and advertising, market makers sell lifestyles and consumers consume such products and lifestyles in hope for upward mobility in the social hierarchy. This creates a culture of hedonism through the impression that one can purchase a status and in turn, ‘happiness’. As such, this new consumer culture lays the foundations for consumption, and demand and supply, of fashion in a society. However, fashion comes and goes and is never constant. But with the ever changing trends and fashion, we see that people have to constantly buy and consume new goods and services to stay in fashion. The frequent renewal of fashion in our capitalistic society makes it an effective marketing strategy as the constant updating of ‘trends’ and the human desire to fit in keeps the fashion industry alive. The fashion industry is a product of the modern age. Prior to the mid-19th century, most clothing was custom made. It was handmade for individuals, either as home production or on order from dressmakers and tailors. By the beginning of the 20th century—with the rise of new technologies such as the sewing machine, the rise of global capitalism and the development of the factory system of production, and the proliferation of retail outlets such as department stores—clothing had increasingly come to be mass-produced in standard sizes and sold at fixed prices. Although the fashion industry developed first in Europe and America, today it is an international and highly globalized industry, with clothing often designed in one country, manufactured in another, and sold world-wide. For example, an American fashion company might source fabric in China and have the clothes manufactured in Vietnam, finished in Italy, and shipped to a warehouse in the United States for distribution to retail outlets internationally. The fashion industry has long been one of the largest employers in the United States, and it remains so in the 21st century.By any measure, the industry accounts for a significant share of world economic output. There is no doubt in the importance of fashion as an industry branch. The amount of money it produces and the number of people it employs makes it a very significant area in the world of economics. On the other side economic situation and changes within it also leave trace on fashion industry. Being so closely entwined any detailed analysis cannot be done without observing both

EN Mod free essay sample

The Latest From The Feminist Front, explains his argument and responds to suggestions that his statements about feminism are too over the top. He thinks that feminism is something that has become too much off big deal. Lumbago seems to feel strongly that the womens movement has gone too far or is getting out of hand. He definitely has provided a lot of support for his argument, and it is very convincing. This essay exposed parts of the womens movement considered by the Start.The claim was the first sub Lumbago because radical feminists are trying to convince others that whenever there was a man that shows interest in women, it is of sexual harassment. Then it explains that this is a very important problem for two reasons. First, Lumbago says that men are afraid to approach women. Look for this to be a sign of emotion because this statement makes the reader feel sorry or sympathetic toward a man. We will write a custom essay sample on EN Mod or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The second problem is that the reference to the advancement of any man as underestimates the real harassment, sexual harassment.Ive found it to be evidence of ethical because the appropriate language and used to support the author. I think the first fallacy of Rush Lumbagos argument is that he thinks that all feminists have the same opinion. This is a fallacy of guilty by association. Although he might be right, labeling extreme feminists, all his arguments are all in positive favor of himself and men like him. Another fallacy was when he said that feminism was created for unattractive women to have it easier n society.This statement causes the readers to look away from the actual facts of the issue. The appearance of women does not really have anything to do with feminism. This fallacy distracts the reader from the real argument where he could have been making a real claim. He concludes with saying, Is our society so confused now about relations between men and women that a mature adult doesnt know how to deal with flirtatious sixteen year old? I think is a brilliant way to end his argument.I eke arguments that leave something interesting for the conclusion that keeps the readers attention. He makes many good points that most people, whether feminist or not have never thought of before. He could have used more of a logical argument instead of an emotional one so that the reader could only feel bad for males. I think that he may have had a better argument if he had used personal experiences to explain the socializing situation. With his own version of each claim he was taking would prove to the audience that he had realistic proof.

Working Personality free essay sample

In â€Å"A Sketch of the Policeman’s Working Personality,† Jerome Skolnick discusses and analyzes how a police officer’s personal outlook is affected by his or her involvement in police work, creating an â€Å"us versus them† mind-set, as well as the frequent inability to â€Å"turn off† the police mentality outside of a work environment. While he states that a person’s work has an impact on his or her outlook of the world according to a recurring theme in the sociology of occupations, police work has a particularly strong impact on those cognitive lenses (Skolnick, 1966, p. ). Because of the nature of their job, police have a tendency to look at the world in a way that makes it distinctive to themselves. This can be associated with the danger that they face on a day-in, day-out basis, how their position as a police officer affects their social relationships, as well as how they are generally perceived by the public. We will write a custom essay sample on Working Personality or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Contributing to the overall working personality of a police officer is the need to be efficient, the continuous presence of potential danger, and the need to establish authority in the face of ever-present public relations issues. Skolnick (1966) likens a police officer to a soldier, a school teacher, and a factory worker because of the dangers he faces, his issues with establish his authority, and the need prove his efficiency, but points out that this overwhelming combination of tasks is unique to police culture. Thus, the â€Å"us versus them† mentality begins to take shape, making officers feel the need to separate themselves from civilian society. The propensity now is that police work is no longer a job, but a way of life. Janowitz refers to the military profession as a â€Å"style of life† because the duties of the job extend pass occupational boundaries, and that any position that performs â€Å"life and death† tasks furthers such claims (Skolnick, p. 3). These split-second decisions that police officers have to make also contribute to their separatist way of thinking. It is also clear that the intensity or lack thereof of a police officer’s assignments can help develop his working personality. Basically, experience corroborates one’s outlook. The threat of danger is continuously present, which contributes to the officer’s constant suspicion in trying to identify a potential danger or a law being broken (Skolnick, p. 4). Because of this constant mode of thinking, many people find themselves not wanting to establish a social relationship or friendship with police officers. The danger element isolates the police officer from citizens that he finds representative of danger as well as isolating him from the more predictable people that he might ordinarily identify with (Skolnick, p. ). The police officer’s requirement to enforce morality laws such as traffic laws usually leads to citizens denying his authority and raising his threat level (Skolnick, p. 4). Skolnick states, â€Å"The kind of man who responds well to danger, however, does not normally prescribe to the codes of puritanical morality. † Because of this, many people view police officers at hypocrites, which gives the police community further reason to isolate as well as further reason to build strong rapport between themselves (Skolnick, p. 4). Skolnick points out that it appears that British police are better about following procedural guidelines than are American police, but that the reason is that they face less dangers than do the police officers of the United States, thus they are better at creating the appearance of conformity (Skolnick, p. 4). Police officers develop a perceptual shorthand that allows them to identify symbolic assailants. This identification can come through the use of certain gestures, language, and even a type of clothing that police have come to associate with particular crimes or violence. Even if the a person has no history of violence or no criminal record, that is overlooked when an officer feels even a vague sense of danger (Skolnick, p. 5). Because of this constant threat of potential danger, police officers may even create certain emotional boundaries which help them continue to function successfully on assignment. Half of the officers in the Westville police department that Skolnick surveyed indicated that they would prefer an assignment of police detective, which involves direct danger. It is believed that while officers may be fearful of the dangers of their jobs, they may also find it exciting, finding enjoyment in potential danger (Skolnick, p. 6). Officers are, of course, trained to be suspicious. Skolnick mentioned a statement from a patrolman that pointed out that â€Å"the most important thing for the officer to do is notice the normal. † By this statement, the officer meant that in order to notice what could be deemed as suspicious, an officer must recognize what is considered normal for a particular area. Notably, whether or not an officer has personally experienced a hazardous situation doesn’t determine his level of suspiciousness. Police officers identify with their comrades who have endured hazardous situations such as beatings or who have even been killed (Skolnick, p. 7). In spite of racial issues that were in existence at the time Skolnick wrote this article, his interview with the Westville police department indicated that racial issues were not the most serious problem that police faced. It was, instead, issues regarding public relations such as citizens’ lack of respect for the badge, failure to cooperate, and the misunderstanding of what all police work entails (Skolnick, p. 8). Relating both to how the public views officers, as well as back to how they are perceived in social settings, Skolnick gives from the Westville police department of an officer and his wife who, while at a party, was hit in the leg and burned from a firework. Even though this occurred in a social setting, he was subjected to another party-goer’s exclamation of, â€Å"Better watch out, he’s a cop. † Another officer mentioned that he didn’t even identify himself as a police officer outside of work because once he did, he could no longer have a normal social relationship with them (Skolnick, p. 9-10). For much of the reasons mentioned previously, the solidarity of police officers has been reaffirmed. Another reason for this, however, is the threat of danger. Again, police officers experience a lack of support and understanding from their communities, and officers believe that the community should not be relieved of their responsibility for law enforcement just because there are uniformed officers who are paid to enforce the law and protect the community (Skolnick, p. 11). The work of police officers increases their solidarity as a group, further separates them from society, and it also taints his character in the eye of the judging public (Skolnick, p. 11-12). Danger faced by officers also acts to further alienate him not only from criminals, but to people he would ordinarily find himself being friends with. This also acts to increase solidarity. Janowitz stated, â€Å"any profession which is continually preoccupied with the threat of danger requires a strong sense of solidarity if it is to operate effectively† (Skolnick, p. 12). Thus, that strong sense of camaraderie is needed to function properly. This same level of solidarity allows police officers to be themselves around other polices officers, and ssentially enables them to â€Å"let themselves go† and engage in behavior that they otherwise wouldn’t because they are always facing public scrutiny (Skolnick, p. 15). It should also be noted that the police officers don’t cooperate with and look out for one another simply because the chief says that’s what they should do or because policy tells them that’s what they have to do, but instead, they do it because they truly believe in the value of team work and know that it can be the difference of life or death out on the street. The brotherhood between police officers is so strong, it is sometimes described as â€Å"clannishness† (Skolnick, p. 16). Contributing to the already abundant level of public resentment, city administrations and courts may use their police force to meet budgetary requirements by setting speed traps, or may increase their fines. The police officers are the â€Å"face† of those fines, which creates even more separation between police officers and the communities they serve. Additionally, at events where officers are hired to keep order, they are essentially restraining citizens’ freedom of action, which leads to even more resentment (Skolnick, p. 3). However, police offers are often faced with situations in which they have administrative discretion, such as putting a drunk in a taxi instead of placing him under arrest. They could have arrested him, but chose to issue a kind of warning instead. Through their requirement to establish authority in order to effectively enforce the law, police officers feel that they are taken for granted, and that they are often â€Å"fighting alone† on the streets (Skolnick, p. 11). They are expected to be conventional, while also being knowledgeable of street expressions in order to put on a suspect (Skolnick, p. 18). They face public scrutiny at every turn, are alienated by one-time friends due to their profession, and in an effort to keep themselves and other safe, are forced into a constant mentality of seeing every one as potential suspect or constantly sensing the threat of potential danger. It is, then, no wonder that police officers have a working personality that is completely different from any other occupation.

The Internet Essays - Cultural Globalization, Digital Technology

The Internet Essays - Cultural Globalization, Digital Technology The Internet Abstract The Internet is a source of more information then most of us know. In this report I highlight some of my favorite things. Also, I highlight some of the things that we as users and buyers need to be cautious of before using. What is the Internet? What comes to a your mind when they think of the Internet? Well, I will tell you what used to come to my mind. When I thought of the Internet, I thought of x-rated Web pages and chat rooms. I envisioned a medium that was so full of disgusting and perverted pictures that parents needed a "cybersitter" to make sure that their children did not get into the Web pages that they were not supposed to. I thought this was the way it was because that is what I had heard about, but I'm a experimental type person and decided to investigate for myself what was really on the Internet. What I found surprised me greatly, for although there are a lot of things that a person would not want their children to see or read, a person has to intentionally search out these things to find them. When you compare the wealth of information you can retrieve off the Internet, it is worth the effort that it takes to make it where children can work on the computer without fear of them being exposed t! o something they should not. One way to make it safer for your children and teens is done when you origianly sign up with your Internet provider. What you do is turn on teen access only, or children acess only, but since nothing is foolproof, keep the computer in a open spot where the you can always see what is going on, for supervision is always the best solution. What does the Internet do? That is a concise question with a broad answer. The facts show that the Internet does nothing. We travel through it to get to our destination ,but we do not use it as itself. It is a tool in our human communications capability. In my research the article compared the Internet to the telephone system, and said that it was similar to our Interstate highway System. The Internet extends the reach of people so that ideas and services can be exchanged, but this does not happen by itself. The Internet is actually a global network of networks. Millions of computers are able to share information with each other using the telephone lines. In fact, the Internet links at least 3 million computers at any one time, and that does not count the people logging on just to surf the net. It only counts the institutions providing some type of Internet service, or information sharing programs. How did the Internet begin? I thought this was interesting. The Internet began like most things in our society, that is to say that it was started by the government. The Internet started out as a experimental military network in the 60's. It then expanded to other governmental agencies and then to higher education. Now the Internet is well known all over the world, for just about anywhere you go, people know what the Internet is. Not everyone knows what to do with the Internet, but most know what it is. Now, unlike a few years ago, the Internet is accessible to just about anyone with a computer. The individual needs only a modem, but they also needs internet access to be connected. At this point it would be good to distinguish between Internet providers and commercial services providing Internet access. As I mentioned before the Internet started with the government and spread to education. These two groups comprised the bulk of the Internet until the late 1980's when companies began linking to the Internet. So a University or Government agency that provides internet access to their students and employees are providing what is considered full Internet access. They do not pay for their Internet access it is part of their studies and employment. On the other hand, the average Joe can get hooked online through a commercial service such as America online, prodigy, and other large communications company such as AT&T and

Export Final Project - Malaysian fashion retailer wishing to expand Term Paper

Export Final Project - Malaysian fashion retailer wishing to expand its business into the African Market - Term Paper Example 2). This being the case, it is important to take note of the fact that the main clothing brans in the market include Adidas, Gucci, Calvin Klein, and Nike, which have swept the fashion industry in the East Asian region, particularly in Malaysia (Appelbaum 69). Due to the growing competition for the clothing brands and the emergence of new global business opportunities, the Malaysian apparel industries is working closely with a number of global business partners in order to identify the most lucrative geographical and economic environment for its clothing brands. Identifying the Global Business Opportunities (Product / Service and Market) As one of the rising stars of the East Asian region, Malaysia prides itself as being one of the business hubs that deal with various industrial goods (Appelbaum 70). Since the discovery of oil in Malaysia, business has never been the same again especially considering the fact that the Islamic nation preserves culture while at the same time engaging t he global business world in its unique sense of business ingenuity (Khadmudin para. 2). Indeed, the success of Malaysia is because of the democratization of the business space as to involve both international and local brands. Owing to this level playground, several clothing brands have chipped in in the nation to the extent of expanding the trade to the neighboring countries (Crinis 72). Perhaps it is crucial to mention that the primary goods and agriculture drove the Malaysian economy in the 1960s, a strategy that took a sharp turn since the discovery of oil drove the Malaysian economy (Rasiah 539). Currently, the major booster to the Malaysian economy is the exports market that account for over 50% of her total revenues (Appelbaum 79). Over the last decades, the Malaysian economy has tripled with the global trade growing to the tune of US$41.58 billion, mostly due to the growth in the apparel industry that the Malaysian government embraced fully (Khadmudin para. 3). To this exten t, the global economic raking places the East Asian nation at the seventeenth position due to its robust global trade in the fashion industry. The industry of textile and apparel is certainly one with a long history as far as revolution is concerned, despite its remarkable growth in the past half century (Crinis 72). While the textile industry was existent in the 1950s, the Malaysian government had not taken it seriously since the world was not so much into fashion the way it is the case today. This being the case, Malaysia highly discouraged any imports in order to promote local talent particularly in the textile industry (Khadmudin para. 4). With both spinning and weaving of the textiles present in southern and northern parts of the country respectively, Malaysian is strategically placed to serve the international market with its unique sense of fashion (Crinis 67). Since the raw materials for the development of the textile and apparent industry are locally available, the East Asi an nation is guaranteed of a continuous supply of the raw materials, which ultimately leads to enormous volumes of garments available for export. With ready market for the textiles in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan, the fashion industry in the Malaysian peninsula continues to grow at unprecedented levels (Khadmudin para. 2). The continued growth coupled with heightened

The importance of corporate responsibility communication, strategies Research Paper

The importance of corporate responsibility communication, strategies for communication - Research Paper Example Introduction Over the years, corporate responsibility (CR) has gained increasing attention from practitioners and scholars alike. The programs intended to demonstrate corporate responsibility have led to significant findings, such as the belief that commitment towards CR activities and communication can improve the perceptions of various stakeholders. Thus, lack of social responsibility may lead to the weakening of stakeholder relationships. CR efforts that are characterized by global themes as well as execution tactics have emerged in the marketplace. Communication of CR in Europe and non-Western countries has reportedly becoming similar to activities in the United States with which reporting and communication are frequently articulated. This suggests that CR efforts, which proactively plan and implement programs that integrate social value with business activities and address problems perceived as part of an organization’s social responsibility, have considerably improved. T herefore, the current trends and evidence highly support the communication of CR activities and programs. Corporate Responsibility: An Overview Primarily, the social responsibility of organizations is to produce goods and services that are socially desirable (Becker-Olsen, Taylor, Hill, and Yalcinkaya. 2010). Furthermore, these companies have the social responsibility of adhering to ethical and legal standards that are viewed by the society as appropriate. This has been presented through a more comprehensive definition that described corporate citizenship as the extent to which firms take on the legal, ethical, economic, and discretionary responsibilities that their stakeholders oblige them to assume. One of the most noteworthy aspects of CR’s definition is the relevance attached to discretionary responsibilities that express the desire of the society to see companies become actively involved in the development and betterment of communities and perform beyond the expected sta ndards. Through previous studies, a number of CR practices have been identified that were categorized as moral or ethical practices, discretionary practices, and relational practices. Diversity, community support, employee support, involvement with the environment, and product manufacturing were considered. Fair treatment of employees, taking into consideration the rights of employees from foreign countries, fair competition with others, responsible actions toward the environment, and exemplifying of truth are all considered as moral or ethical practices in relation to corporate responsibility. Meanwhile, under discretionary practices, a number of procedures have been identified as well, such as the contribution of resources to increase social awareness regarding current issues, support for issues on family and children, support for public health programs, and contribution of cultural programs for the community. Finally, relational practices involve the attempts for establishing lon g-term relationships with consumers as well as the willingness to consider the views and constructive criticisms of stakeholders regarding business practices (Shum and Yam, 2010). The business benefits of corporate responsibility have been comprehensively examined and results have indicated that CR can generate moral capital among workers

Qualitative research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Qualitative research - Essay Example Researchers use coding process to connect data obtained from various research topics in qualitative research. Coding process helps in generating the main theme of the study and relating data collected. During the analysis of qualitative information, the first step involves the organization of data collected. The researcher organizes transcripts during used to collect the information. Data collected though video or record modes are formatted properly in order to make them understandable (Houser, 2011). If the information collected was with transcripts and video, then the two needs harmonization to help build on the theme of study. Otherwise, the data collected would be challenging to interpret. Second step involves reviewing the interviews conducted using the data source by coding. Codes obtained from the review process helps in identification of the main theme of the study (Houser, 2011). The codes may be inductive or deductive. In inductive coding, the information understood from the data assist in making thematic conclusion as opposed to deductive theme that results from experience of the researcher or theory based on the topic. Coding of information is possible using computer programs. Jeanfreau, S. G., & Jack, L. (2010). Appraising Qualitative Research in Health Education: Guidelines for Public Health Educators. Health Promotion Practice, 11(5), 612–617.